Do you have OCD?
Some common supposed "OCD" symptoms and reasons why it could be OCD, and why it might NOT be OCD.

Intro
It's up to my other two mods as to whether this gets stickied. Honestly, I'm just writing this to get it out of my head, not with getting it stickied in mind. I didn't see any stickies with quite the exact point I wanted to make, so I went ahead with this.

Quite honestly, being diagnosed OCD, I get a bit bothered by how many "do I have OCD?" posts. Some, the person obviously has some issues to work out that could be related to OCD. Some are obviously not OCD. While I am perfectly happy to help out people if they're confused over OCD, I wanted to cover a few things. In this post, I have listed some common supposed symptoms of OCD, and reasoning why it could be OCD, but also sort of debunking it, giving alternatives or reasons why I wouldn't consider you OCD right away.

Am I OCD?

I like things to be organized/I like to keep things neat and tidy/I like to have my pencils and other things straight and in order.Why you might have OCD: With OCD, we pretty much like things in our way, the main reasons being to have control, and usually the belief that something bad will happen if the procedure isn't carried out. Often, someone with OCD will have something, their rooms, their CD collections, their wardrobes, organized in some way that makes sense to them.Why you might NOT have OCD: OCD has become a common adjective to use with anyone who likes order, or is bothered by a pencil not being straight. However, there are people who have "neat freak" personalities who are NOT OCD. Being OCD does NOT mean that the person is a neat freak either. For instance, I can be lazy as hell and leave a mess alone, but this mess is still an "ordered mess," meaning I am most comfortable with this arrangement and it gives me a sense of contentment. Cleaning does give me the same feeling, but I have to be the one to put everything away. Keeping a tidy environment definitely does not mean you are OCD, though it can be a symptom.

I'm a germaphobe/I wash my hands constantly.Why you might have OCD: It is a common symptom, honestly. Hand-washing can be very compulsive, to the point where the person does so often enough to leave their hands raw and tender. I don't experience this as much, but I do use hand sanitizer very compulsively and religiously.Why you might NOT have OCD: The word germaphobe in itself suggest a separate thing. Again, you can be a germaphobe and not be OCD. I'm not a germaphobe either. I do partake highly in cleanliness and ritualistic hygiene however.

I often worry that I left the stove on/I have to double check the doors to make sure they're locked/I worry about things.Why you might have OCD:These little worries can often be obsessions and/or compulsions. I go for a walk every evening, and more often than not I'm shaking and worried sick that I left the front door open or the wind is strong enough to open it by itself, and that my dear house cats have gotten out. 100% of the time, however, I come home to a firmly shut door and two kitties fast asleep upstairs.Why you might NOT have OCD: Again, it's another personality trait to be a "worry wart." My mum is the same way, often she even forgets altogether that she locked the door and will go back to check. But she's the furthest thing from OCD. It's quite normal actually to double guess yourself about security measures like leaving the cooker on.

I like to count things/I am fond of a specific number and use this number in my daily life, e.g. how many eggs to cook for breakfast, number of ice cubes in a drink, etc.Why you might have OCD: Numbers also can be a bit obsession and sometimes compulsion. I have a relative who has down syndrome, but is also OCD. Every time she climbs or descends a staircase, she counts every step, every time. I detest odd numbers for material possessions, and I will not drink from a drink unless it initially had the last digit of my age in ice cubes put in it (for instance, this year it's eight). I seriously will not drink from it. I do settle with four since it's half of eight and therefore makes sense, when I cannot fit eight ice cubes in the cup I'm using. Certain numbers in general can also be obsessions. Five is a huge one for me. Why you might NOT have OCD: I... can't really debunk this as much. I guess you could have this sort of obsession without having OCD, but it's a stranger symptom that I'd be a bit more curious with.

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Anything else you can come up with to add? I'll gladly add it.

Have your own symptom I can add to the list for debunking? Don't hesitate to bring it up. I've only used the basics that I find, but I can add anything you've experienced.

Feel free to do what you wish with this, Kathy & Georgia. I don't mind if it's stickied or deleted or neither, either way, I got it out of my head

And I'm sorry I didn't build your walls. And I'm sorry I had to go and fall.And I'm sorry I had the whole thing wrong. Well, I guess I'm the sorriest of all.And I'm sorry that you are feeling small. And I'm sorry that I'm not used to crawling.And I'm sorry the writing's on the wall. Well, I guess I'm the sorriest of all.

I have OCD. I used to have excessive handwashing and I straightened everything all of the time. I heard voices telling me to do things, and I heard voices, just period. I had a mild case of OCD probably, but the comments and teasing were hurtful. I'll keep up with this thread, I want to hear from others.

i have severe OCD.
i do everything in pretty much the number 32. [chew 32 bites]
say there's four things together. if i touch one, i have to touch the other 3.
i follow routines in the morning and evening. i CANT change them.
i have certain rituals i do for volleyball [like tying my shoe laces about 8 times, having "ah♥" on my shoes, the number 32 written on both of my wrists even though i wear the number 34 this year, etc.]
my room has to be a certain way.
i straighten things. A LOT.
i notice if something is different.
i have to brush my teeth right after i eat. every time.

and a ton more stuff. but i don't think you guys want to hear my problems.(:

Well, I originally thought I may fall loosely in germiphobe and neat freak but this seems to rule that out. I am only paranoid about certain objects and what happens to them. As for neat freak, I keep mostly orderly, and many items have their place, but not every object this happens with me, as with the previously suspected to be germiphobia. Is it posoble to have selective OCD?

Yeah, definitely. It's not always a general rule, it can be selective. I'm that way as well. I have an organising obsession, but not everything does have to be in order, just specific things always need to be. It's just another facet of the obsessions in my opinion.

And I'm sorry I didn't build your walls. And I'm sorry I had to go and fall.And I'm sorry I had the whole thing wrong. Well, I guess I'm the sorriest of all.And I'm sorry that you are feeling small. And I'm sorry that I'm not used to crawling.And I'm sorry the writing's on the wall. Well, I guess I'm the sorriest of all.

I have OCD and I know it for about 4 years now. It's not that bad, I guess. It's quite anoying at school, like, my maths teacher draws a square and I can see that two of sides of the square aren't completley straight and I can't focus on anything else. My mom is a clean-freak (she has OCD too). And I basically don't remember her before she was like that so I guess it has never been normal in our house. I have to have all the plugs in my house turned in the same way. I have all of those places on my body I have to scratch all the time. My knees looks horrible because of that. And I have to have an even number of everything in the fridge. And ... well, basically that would be it.

How much do you know about *just* obsessions, without a notable compulsion?

I know it's a branch off.

God help the outcasts, the tattered, the torn. Seeking an answer to why they were born.
Winds of misfortune have blown them about. You made the outcasts, don't cast them out.
The poor and unlucky, the weak and the odd. I thought we all were the children of God.

So you would have the thoughts and feelings behind it, without the action on them, and the rituals? That's my guess really. I'd like to know about it though. I've spoken to people with pure O and I can relate to a lot of it honestly but I don't know a lot about it specifically.

And I'm sorry I didn't build your walls. And I'm sorry I had to go and fall.And I'm sorry I had the whole thing wrong. Well, I guess I'm the sorriest of all.And I'm sorry that you are feeling small. And I'm sorry that I'm not used to crawling.And I'm sorry the writing's on the wall. Well, I guess I'm the sorriest of all.

When I stop listening to my MP3 player the song playing always has to be on a zero in the song...like 1:00, 2:10, 3:50, etc. when people are with me in the car they think it's totally weird that I won't shut the car off till the song reaches a zero so if the song was at like 2:11...I will wait the required 9 seconds.

All my TV boxes have to be pointed in the same direction, in the same place. Oh and the TV channel has to be on the same channel all the time before I shut if of...even if I wasn't watching that particular channel.

So you would have the thoughts and feelings behind it, without the action on them, and the rituals? That's my guess really. I'd like to know about it though. I've spoken to people with pure O and I can relate to a lot of it honestly but I don't know a lot about it specifically.

Like, i don't do any overly specific rituals, though lately I'm finding myself doing weird things (insisting on walking in the middle of the sidewalk, lining things up) but really it's the obsessive thoughts that are fucking with me. I can easily let myself fix books or something minorly stupid like that,
but the sexual, violent, self mutilating, perfectionist, ect. Its fucking with my head.

God help the outcasts, the tattered, the torn. Seeking an answer to why they were born.
Winds of misfortune have blown them about. You made the outcasts, don't cast them out.
The poor and unlucky, the weak and the odd. I thought we all were the children of God.

I'd say I'm 4/5 of those listed. Seriously, whether or not things in my bedroom are organised the way I want them to be will completely change my mood for the day. Also, I get obsessively panicky over silly things (like doors being unlocked as you used in the example). They're probably the 2 I'm worst for.

I wouldn't say I'm OCD, just a very ordered person who likes things done in a certain way. Such as how I only like to start or finish doing something (such as homework, or watching TV, or being in the shower) at a time that is a multiple of 5 (eg. 12:05, 12:30, 12:40, etc.).

I don't know if I am or not, I don't like talking about any OCD things I do so I've never been tested or anything. But I'm obsessive over control, and if I feel out of control, it's like I just can't deal with it, and stupid little things make me feel out of control--not being able to make things equal sized, or like when I'm walking on sidewalks or where the floor is separated by cracks or colors, my feet have to hopefully not touch the cracks and stay in one color at a time and be equal to eachother, and if I break that rule on one foot, I try to to the same to the other foot, and when I can't my walking gets really weird and I get really frustrated. I don't know if it's OCD or not and I don't want to act like I have it if I don't...but I don't know how to tell

... When I stop listening to my MP3 player the song playing always has to be on a zero in the song...like 1:00, 2:10, 3:50, etc. when people are with me in the car they think it's totally weird that I won't shut the car off till the song reaches a zero so if the song was at like 2:11...I will wait the required 9 seconds. ...

I have a quite similar problem. When I listen to my MP3, the sound has to be always on a number like 5, 10, 15, 20 ... So my ears are sometimes suffering so much or I can't really hear anything, but I just have to do it ... It's kinda funny, really.

I have a type of ocd where my body has to feel even.
so for example, If I bang my hand against a wall, I have to bang the other one, or if I touch my right leg, I have to do the exact same thing to the other leg, in the same spot the same way. its very bad actually and stresses me out alot...

I have a type of ocd where my body has to feel even.
so for example, If I bang my hand against a wall, I have to bang the other one, or if I touch my right leg, I have to do the exact same thing to the other leg, in the same spot the same way. its very bad actually and stresses me out alot...

I kinda have a obsession with the numbers 5, 8, 10, 12, 15, 20 and 25.
and i also have to wash my hands after i take my shoes on, because the shoes are "Not clean/Dirty", and when i sit in a bus, i may only blink when a car passes, and things have to be symetrichal, like if i scratch my left knee i also have to scratch the right knee, things like that. and in school, if my (or someone else) pencil case doesnt like, lay parallel with the edge of the table/disk, i cant concentrate on anything. and when someones hair fall down in their eyes, and they dont care... uff, thats terribble, i can feel the hair fall in my eyes and its itching like hell. and so many other things that i cant remember them all. In the morning everything i do has to be done in a special way or order, that takes looooong time, so im a half hour late in school everyday... on the bad days a hour... one the good days "only" a quarter. and i cant just get up a half hour earlier, cuz then the thoughts get worse, and i still get out a half hour later than i should. its like the thoughts just adjust, so i come a half hour late everyday.
...hmph, I seem like an attention-whore who wants everybody to feel sorry for me.

there probably was a lot of spelling mistakes, hope you could read it anyway.